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Joe Leenheer

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Fairway Mowing Patterns
« on: December 11, 2013, 11:03:04 PM »
Striped VS Half-n-Half

I've tried to convince my last two supers to mow what I call "Half-n-Half" with a single center line and one side of the fairway looking darker then the other (please inform me if there is a proper name for is mowing technique).

My main reason is I just prefer the look.

My selling point is it reduces mowing time due to fewer turns needed to create the look.

What are the tree houses comments & opinions?
Never let the quality of your game determine the quality of your time spent playing it.

BHoover

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2013, 11:21:50 PM »
I'm with you all the way. I think the centerline mowing pattern looks better and probably is easier to maintain than the checkered pattern (remember when Muirfield Village had that pattern--the fairways looked like giant green tartan plaid). I have no data to back up my choice, I just prefer the look.

Charlie_Bell

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2013, 11:26:28 PM »
Assuming the stripes run up and down the fairway (as opposed to across, or diagonally), I don't see how half-n-half is a timesaver.  You still need to mow the same amount of grass.  Also, half of it will be in one direction and half in the other, so the number of turns should be the same.

Moreover, if you can make very small, almost zero-radius turns, the stripe method may create less overlap on the short ends of the pattern -- in front of the tee and the green -- which means the stripe method would be faster.  

What am I missing?

And how do you mow your lawn?!  
« Last Edit: December 11, 2013, 11:30:30 PM by Charlie_Bell »

Steve Okula

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2013, 03:49:41 AM »
The striped pattern takes longer because more time is spent turning around. Mowing the short way across a fairway, or even diagonally, is less time efficient than a simple up and down. Believe me, I've been doing this for decades.

As for which one looks better, that's a matter of opinion.
The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

Joshua Pettit

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2013, 06:53:41 AM »
I’ve often heard it referred to as the “split-cut” or “loop-mow."

It is a tremendous time saver for the maintenance staff as long as the turf is dry enough not to clump up in the reels.  Also, it can be handy for the golfer who isn’t familiar with a course, as the center line works as a natural target…and much better looking than barber poles if you ask me.  The ironic thing is that most of the courses I know of that use the split-cut are private.  I think it’s one of those things that’s starting to become trendy again amongst upper-echelon clubs.  The only public courses I can think of that are NOT striped have very few noticeable lines at all, a feat that may be the toughest of all for any greenkeeper to achieve.  There’s truly an art to it.

Mowing lines and patterns are rarely discussed even though they can significantly affect the way a golfer plays a course.  Discussed perhaps even less frequently is the connection between course layout (design) and course management (maintenance).  For instance, the design and placement of hazards and the configuration of green complexes directly affect the way a course is maintained -- man hours, equipments costs, etc.  

I know it doesn’t sound diplomatic this day and age, but I’d rather have more short grass and fewer machines and operators.  Almost never does inflating an industry stimulate the masses.  And in the case of the golf business it’s had the opposite effect.  It’s no wonder the cheapest courses to play usually have the smallest crews and simplest operations.  Sooner or later the golf industry will have to confront the rising cost of labor in addition to water.

In recent decades how often has an architect had the foresight to build a course thinking specifically about the maintenance regimen that will follow?  Mackenzie talked a lot about this idea, even before the depression, but even more during it.  Post ’29 crash is when he really started to put his preachings into practice.

Design...maintenance…cost of play…speed of play -- they’re all tied together.

« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 05:04:02 PM by Joshua Pettit »
"The greatest and fairest of things are done by nature, and the lesser by art."

Donnie Beck

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2013, 06:54:07 AM »
Although I prefer the light/dark pattern I wouldn't say it is a time saver. If you have a lot of contours in your fairway it is very time consuming to keep circling back around to pick up the voids in all the nooks.

Matt Wharton

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2013, 06:58:13 AM »
Joe,

At Carolina we originally striped our fairways in three directions (diagonally left to right, diagonally right to left, and straight up and down).  We typically mowed three times weekly (M, W, F) and we always performed the up and down pattern on Fridays because it took the least amount of time, compared to the other two patterns (more turning when mowing diagonally across the fairway).  

I originally switched to the Half & Half (A.K.A. Shadow Cut or Classic Cut) after a discussion with our restoration architect, Kris Spence in 2010.  He stated how he thought that look would be more in tune with the age of the course (Carolina dates back to 1929).  At that time you were starting to see more of that style make a comeback (the fairways at Pebble Beach were mowed that way for the 2010 U.S. Open) and that was how we mowed fairways at the first course I ever worked growing up, so I was in favor.

The first thing that happened once we made the switch was overall mowing time was reduced by one hour (again, less turning).  Considering I use two mowers 3 to 4 times weekly that is a significant fuel reduction and labor saver.  As for the look, Steve is correct...it's a matter of opinion (beauty is in the eye of the beholder).

Hope this info helps!

Matthew Wharton, CGCS, MG
Idle Hour CC
Lexington, KY

Donnie Beck

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2013, 07:17:22 AM »
One more advantage to light/dark pattern. Especially in the wet season is less wear from the tight turns in the cut rough.


Jaeger Kovich

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2013, 08:39:45 AM »
Clay, the assistant at Dismal River called the half and half cut we kept asking for during grow-in "The Lemon Lime"... I like it!

Tom Culley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2013, 08:43:07 AM »
Greenskeepers i know refer to the half'n'half as 'Bayed Out', i'm not sure if this is common or not.

Personally i feel that Bayed Out is the most aesthetically pleasing, it provides definition without being too busy.
"Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair. But to do what is fair, you need to know the Rules of Golf."

Alan FitzGerald CGCS MG

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2013, 09:13:13 AM »
I switched about five years ago and saw appox 20% savings in mowing time. I wasn't expecting that much difference when you consider the corners that need to be picked up. I guess the time needing to do three point turns around bunkers etc is greater than driving to get a corner. One item to be aware of is the increased traffic in the rough at the ends of the fairways where the turning is concentrated.

I found that alternating the direction of the loop really made it look bad as nothing was defined and it also didn't leave a blank look (ie all the same color like Augusta) so I stick to mowing them the same way all summer. This has lead to a little grain; the striping in different directions helps reduce grain somewhat as the turf isn't constantly been lain over in the same direction.

I remember back in the 90s the Tour not wanting the fairways split cut as they were worried about how it would effect the way the players would play the course. They thought that it would result in the players favoring the light side of the fairway (as that is the direction of the cut/roll) so they could get a potential (marginal) greater roll. The club ended up mowing everything in one direction and it looked fantastic but unfortunately it wasn't something that could be done regularly due to the extra equipment (loaned) and staff (volunteers) needed to do it.

Fairways were originally mowed half and half due to the limitations of the equipment. The first fairway mowers were horse drawn gangs which were replaced by tractor pulled gangs. Due to them being pulled, the easiest way to mow was to loop around in a circle. When the self contained hydraulic mowers came along with the ability to quickly lift the units, it opened up the possibility of striping the fairways. 

As for the aesthetics; it is up to the individual to which they prefer.
Golf construction & maintenance are like creating a masterpiece; Da Vinci didn't paint the Mona Lisa's eyes first..... You start with the backdrop, layer on the detail and fine tune the finished product into a masterpiece

Steven Blake

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #11 on: December 12, 2013, 09:24:11 AM »
I call it, "black 'n tan" or some call it "ying-yang"

I love the "black 'n tan" look on fairways. compared with striping. Its a matter of preference but to me it looks less busy.  


Steve Blake


Nigel Islam

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #12 on: December 12, 2013, 10:12:24 AM »
The half and half look gives you the opportunity to in actuality hit one right down the middle.

Joe Jemsek

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #13 on: December 12, 2013, 10:34:55 AM »
I think the "split cut" look first fell out of favor as more people adopted smaller fairway units that could turn on angles and reduce wear and tear in the fronts of greens. Before this one solution to minimize damage was to take the fairway cut around the greens complex.

Below are some photos from Dick Wilson’s Calvary Club outside Syracuse, NY. Note in 1966 photos the fairway goes around the greenside bunker and behind the green creating great short grass options and places the turning wear in the rear of the green. Today only a courtesy path between bunker and lake remains fairway as the cart path has been extended, probably because they couldn’t maintain short grass with the cart traffic.

1966

Hole-09-grn-1966 by jemsekgolf, on Flickr

Hole-09-rear2-1966 by jemsekgolf, on Flickr

2012

Hole-09-2 by jemsekgolf, on Flickr

I noticed the same cut patterns on this old aerial from Dubsdread circa 1975  


20130130_140031 by jemsekgolf, on Flickr

I thing new style courses look better with contoured mowing, but the labor savings can't be ignored and I gennerally recommend split cut or longways striping.
 
Have clubs, will travel

Andrew Buck

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #14 on: December 12, 2013, 11:13:16 AM »
Striped VS Half-n-Half

I've tried to convince my last two supers to mow what I call "Half-n-Half" with a single center line and one side of the fairway looking darker then the other (please inform me if there is a proper name for is mowing technique).

My main reason is I just prefer the look.

My selling point is it reduces mowing time due to fewer turns needed to create the look.

What are the tree houses comments & opinions?

I am in the same boat, mostly because of budget, although I like the look.  We generally stripe fairways, and only cross-mow a few times a year.  On bluegrass fairways, that leads to grass being laid over if you always cut the same way.  If you do half and half, you can change directions easier for a better cut without as much wear and tear on the mowers.  

Our super did agree to test it on two fairways this fall, and it worked well, so hopefully we will roll it out completely next year.  

I also agree with Joe.  With the larger pull behind reel mowers of the past, the half and half look was by far the easiest for maintenance.  Newer smaller mowers gave additional options, and courses adapted simply because they could.

Andrew Buck

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #15 on: December 12, 2013, 11:20:56 AM »


I noticed the same cut patterns on this old aerial from Dubsdread circa 1975  


20130130_140031 by jemsekgolf, on Flickr


 

Wow.  Amazing how open the first hole is in this aerial.  Is the current forest that resides between 9 and 1 south of 2 tee the very small trees that I think I see in this picture, or were more mature trees planted at some point?

Steve Okula

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #16 on: December 12, 2013, 11:26:11 AM »


Mowing lines and patterns are rarely discussed even though they can significantly affect the way a golfer plays a course.  Discussed perhaps even less frequently is the connection between course layout (design) and course management (maintenance).  For instance, the design and placement of hazards and the configuration of green complexes directly affect the way a course is maintained -- man hours, equipments costs, etc.  

In recent decades how often has an architect had the foresight to build a course thinking specifically about the maintenance regimen that will follow?  Mackenzie talked a lot about this idea, even before the depression, but even more during it.  Post ’29 crash is when he really started to put his preachings into practice.

Design...maintenance…cost of play…speed of play -- they’re all tied together.



I think every golf architect I've ever met considers the maintenance aspects when they're designing a course. Certainly every one on this site does, and the subject had been discussed here at length and in detail for years.
The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

Joe Jemsek

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #17 on: December 12, 2013, 12:52:54 PM »
Andrew,

Funny story, the orginal tee was planned near chipping but the owner insisted the tee benuilt left so a single starter could run both courses. The original concept was shorter players could layup left of bunker complex and play par 5 strategy.  When the tee moved to accommodate owners request, players were able to cut corner and created a dangerous situation on 2nd tee. Forrest was planted to protect players. Initial planned tee was built years later.
Have clubs, will travel

Joe Leenheer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #18 on: December 12, 2013, 01:33:06 PM »
Assuming the stripes run up and down the fairway (as opposed to across, or diagonally), I don't see how half-n-half is a timesaver.  You still need to mow the same amount of grass.  Also, half of it will be in one direction and half in the other, so the number of turns should be the same.

Moreover, if you can make very small, almost zero-radius turns, the stripe method may create less overlap on the short ends of the pattern -- in front of the tee and the green -- which means the stripe method would be faster.  

What am I missing?

And how do you mow your lawn?!  

The stripes in our fairway are diagonal.

My wife mows the lawn.   ;D
Never let the quality of your game determine the quality of your time spent playing it.

Paul Dolton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #19 on: December 12, 2013, 01:47:57 PM »
We Called the half and half block cutting and it was much quicker. Less turns than cross hatching meaning units down cutting more. I really like it especially on links courses. Gives you an idea where the centre of the fairway is.

Anthony_Nysse

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #20 on: December 12, 2013, 02:25:11 PM »
Joe,

At that time you were starting to see more of that style make a comeback (the fairways at Pebble Beach were mowed that way for the 2010 U.S. Open) and that was how we mowed fairways at the first course I ever worked growing up, so I was in favor.

Hope this info helps!



Not to be a prick, but Pebble was mowed all one direction, tee to green for the US Open. they usually mow diagonals for the AT&T. This is coming a trend as some events-Congressional, Quail Hollow, Muirfield and the last 4 US Opens and always Augusta. Certainly doesn't give favor for landing on one side of the fairway or the other. At Oakmont for the 2007 US Open and also the Womens Open in 2010, the fairways were mowed 9-3, then "pushed" from tee to green. Riviera does the same thing for the Northern Trust.
  I will agree with Donnie in the fact that mowing dark/light on the fairways only saves time when the fairways are somewhat a consistent width from beginning to end. When I worked at Colonial, it was perfect, as the fairways were 25-29yds wide. Here at Pine Tree, it's a difference store and we only save real time here with a 4th unit is out. We have too many contours in the fairways to save time with only 3 units.

2010 US Open


2011 US Open and/or AT&T


2012 US Open


Here at Pine Tree
Anthony J. Nysse
Director of Golf Courses & Grounds
Apogee Club
Hobe Sound, FL

Matt Wharton

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #21 on: December 12, 2013, 03:04:43 PM »
Tony,

In the immortal words of Steve Martin... "Well excuuuuusssssse me"  ;D
Matthew Wharton, CGCS, MG
Idle Hour CC
Lexington, KY

Don_Mahaffey

Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #22 on: December 12, 2013, 05:24:02 PM »

Joshua Pettit

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #23 on: December 12, 2013, 05:33:53 PM »
That's awesome Don! Does it come in a 7 or 9 gang?
« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 05:51:19 PM by Joshua Pettit »
"The greatest and fairest of things are done by nature, and the lesser by art."

Joe Hancock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Fairway Mowing Patterns
« Reply #24 on: December 12, 2013, 06:42:52 PM »
Put me in the camp of changing mowing patterns often enough to benefit the cut and growth habits of the grass itself. Aesthetically, I'll take a course with no distinguishable mow pattern at all. I like to let the features of the course tell me where to hit it, not where the mower tells me.

Joe
" What the hell is the point of architecture and excellence in design if a "clever" set up trumps it all?" Peter Pallotta, June 21, 2016

"People aren't picking a side of the fairway off a tee because of a randomly internally contoured green ."  jeffwarne, February 24, 2017